MRS Operating Committees form the operational heart of the Society and are made up of energized volunteers who wish to help drive forward specific aspects of the Society. The links on the left detail descriptions of the responsibilities and activities of each committee. If you're interested in serving on a committee, please contact the appropriate committee chair and/or HQ liaison. Contact information is available on each committee page.
The MRS Academic Affairs Committee assesses existing educational curricula in materials science and engineering and evaluates the need for materials specialists in current and emerging technical areas. It also engages in and recommends appropriate initiatives to the Board of Directors. The committee serves in an advisory capacity to University Chapters and maintains a current record of University Chapter officers and advisors. Subcommittees: Accreditation, Curriculum, International Student Affairs, and University Chapters and Special Projects.
Read More »The MRS Awards Committee oversees all Society awards according to policies approved by the Board of Directors, arranges for the preparation and presentation of awards, recommends new awards and changes to existing awards, and oversees publicity for all awards. Subcommittees: External Awards, Graduate Student Award, Innovation in Materials Characterization Award, Materials Theory Award, Mid-Career Researcher Award, MRS Fellow, MRS Medal, Outstanding Young Investigator, Turnbull Lectureship, Von Hippel Award.
Read More »The MRS Government Affairs Committee responds to and initiates opportunities to interact with government officials and public and private organizations on matters of science and technology policy, participates in or plans events related to those policies. The also aids the Board of Directors and the Board's External Relations Committee in identifying policy issues relevant to the Society's interests and prepares proposed responses, with supporting background material, for Board of Director consideration and disposition. Subcommittees: Congressional Fellow, Congressional Visits, Government Agency Selection, and Grass Roots.
Read More »The MRS International Relations Committee fosters relationships between MRS and international technical societies and organizations. This committee identifies initiatives to enhance the quality of services provided to the international community.
Read More »The MRS Meetings Committee is responsible for planning, executing, and evaluating program content of all Meetings in which the Society participates. This will include technical and non-technical content, tutorials, workshops, electronic content delivery, experiments in new meetings, and co-sponsored, co-located, or other partnered programming. It will evaluate proposed MRS endorsements for external technical meetings; shall seek opportunities to coordinate efforts across the Society and will liaise with the MRS Publications Committee to coordinate topical content between mediums when possible. The Committee will work with the Publications Committee to identify meeting content suitable for delivery in a virtual or other hybrid methods; actively assess quality for all delivered content. Subcommittees: Program Development, Non-Technical Program Development, Electronic Media, Meeting Quality.
Read More »The MRS Membership Committee shall foster overall membership vitality by assessing professional breadth, diversity, satisfaction and engagement of the members and implementing or recommending improvements to member benefits and services. The Committee facilitates activities of Sections, Women in MS&E, and the Diversity Subcommittee, and it initiates other groups as appropriate to enrich the member experience, and identifies and recommends opportunities for improving value to members across other society activities. Subcommittees: Demographics, Diversity, Sections, Women in Materials Science & Engineering, and Membership Committee Minutes.
Read More »The MRS Public Outreach Committee develops activities and programs on both national and local levels to educate the general public on materials research and its importance. Activities and programs may include, but are not be limited to, pre-university science education, press communications, and public service information. The committee evaluates, interprets, and communicates impact of the Society’s public awareness programs to the Board of Directors and the Board’s External Relations and Volunteer Involvement Committee and collaborates with other MRS Operating Committees to publicize existing Society programs and engage the membership in outreach activities. Subcommittees: DBIS, NISE, NOVA, Strange Matter.
Read More »The MRS Publications Committee shall be responsible for the quality of MRS publications and shall provide direction to and review of the society’s print and electronic publications, including journals, books, news, educational and all other publications. It shall oversee general editorial policy, engage in strategic planning and development of the Society’s current and future publications, recommend and work with partner entities where appropriate, and initiate publication focused task forces and subcommittees as deemed necessary by the committee. Subcommittees: Editors, Publications Quality, and New Publications Products.
Read More »The Technical Program Committee is responsible for strategic planning for future technical programming. It recommends candidates for Meeting Chairs for future Society meetings to the Vice President, solicits and develops suggestions for new symposia, evaluates current and previous symposia for timeliness and relevance, and assesses meeting quality. The Technical Program Committee also provides MRS Headquarters with a volunteer talent report. To facilitate this mission, the Technical Programming Committee consists of a Chair and two subcommittees: (1) Program Development Subcommittee and (2) Meeting Quality Subcommittee. The Chair of the Technical Program Committee is appointed by the Board in consultation with the previous Chair of the Technical Program Committee. The Chair nominates chairs for each of the two subcommittees for Board approval, and facilitates and directs the work of the subcommittees. Technical Program Committee includes the Meeting Quality Subcommittee (MQS).
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